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Not an Amine, Not an Ester

Dow AgroScience provided additional details on its new Enlist Weed Control System during a press conference at the 2011 Commodity Classic on Friday afternoon.

Damon Palmer, U.S. Commercial leader for the Enlist Weed Control System, said the new technology builds on and enhances the existing glyphosate system and includes both a new herbicide tolerant trait and a new herbicide based on a new formulation of 2,4-D technology.

Palmer said the new Enlist system will include ColexDtechnology and offers growers reduced off-target movement benefits. It also offers a new 2,4-D product, as opposed to current herbicides, which are chemically either amines or esters, the new compound is a quaternary ammonium salt, created by a proprietary process using 2,4-D as a base.

He said the ColexD technology solves the greatest drawback to 2,4-D, which is off-target movement, resulting either from volatility or drift. He said the new compound has ultra low volatility, less drift, lower odor and better handling characteristics.

The new technology is designed to help producers deal with the specter of glyphosate resistant weeds, which have already become a problem in many areas of the U.S.

Palmer said the new resistant trait will be stacked with the glyposate resistant trait, allowing producers to use both glyphosate for control of grasses and Enlist for the control of broadleaf weeds. The multiple mode of action in the combination should offer a longer life for both herbicides, he said.

Palmer said the Enlist Weed Control System will be introduced, pending regulatory approvals, in 2013 in corn and in soybeans and cotton two years later.

He said work is ongoing to work out the best application protocol including types and settings of nozzles.